ICP emission spectroscopy and atomic absorption spectrometry are generally used for qualitative and quantitative analyses of metal elements included in samples. ICP emission spectroscopy heats the sample to extremely high temperatures and is thus preferably applied to analyses of metals with high boiling point, such as titanium (Ti) and vanadium (V), and multi-element analyses. Atomic absorption spectrometry has lower heating temperatures than ICP emission spectroscopy and is thus preferably applied to analyses of metals with low boiling point, such as sodium (Na) and potassium (K). There are, however, many samples which can be analyzed both by ICP emission spectroscopy and atomic absorption spectrometry. In some cases, an appropriate one of the analyses is selected by considering the concentration of a target element in a liquid sample or the sensitivity of a spectroscopic apparatus applied. In other cases, both ICP emission spectroscopy and atomic absorption spectrometry are used to analyze a sample.
Conventionally, independent and separate apparatuses are used for ICP emission spectroscopy and atomic absorption spectrometry. Both apparatuses are necessary when a wide variety of samples are supposed to be analyzed. For routine analyses of various samples, the operator is required to move between the two apparatuses and repeat the troublesome and time-consuming operations on the apparatuses.